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Chair of Taiwan
studies launched at Canadian university
By J. Michael Cole / Staff Reporter
Taiwanˇ¦s representative to Canada
David Lee, left, Marcel Merette, dean of the faculty of social sciences at the
University of Ottawa, center, and Francois Carrier, director of international
research at the office of the vice president of the university make a toast
during the official launch ceremony of the chair of Taiwan studies at the
University of Ottawa on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Robert Lacombe, University of Ottawa
An enthusiastic crowd packed the Tabaret
Hall at the University of Ottawa on Wednesday evening for the official launch of
the chair of Taiwan Studies at the Canadian capitalˇ¦s top university.
The chair was made possible following an agreement between the university and
Taiwanˇ¦s Ministry of Education.
The designated titular of the chair is professor Scott Simon from the department
of sociology and anthropology, with professor Andre Laliberte of the school of
political studies acting as co-chair.
The chair will be interdisciplinary and extend to fields including political
studies, anthropology, sociology, economics and development.
During the ceremony, which was co-organized by the Taipei Economic and Cultural
Office, Simon said the university had already signed agreements with five
Taiwanese universities.
ˇ§In the Faculty of Social Science, we already have two scholars who have been
doing Taiwan Studies for well over a decade, with many publications. This is in
addition to cutting-edge work in such fields as medicine and the hard sciences
done in collaboration between [University of Ottawa] professors and Taiwanese
scholars,ˇ¨ he said.
Laliberte said Taiwanˇ¦s unique situation could serve as inspiration for a wide
number of issues.
ˇ§I am delighted to have the opportunity to teach our students about this
democratic republic, from which we can learn a lot in the fields of science and
public policy. Taiwan has a rich political culture and a tumultuous history that
is sure to inspire debate in every sector of political science,ˇ¨ Laliberte said.
ˇ§In the field of comparative politics, Taiwan has, since 1945, served as an
experiment, with implications for all the great political questions of our time
... institutional reform, the separation of power and electoral development, all
of which are part of the ˇĄTaiwanese experiment.ˇ¦ˇ¨
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